What is your ideal office?
My ideal office has air-conditioning when it’s hot,
heating when it’s cold, a minibar, good music and lots of
Liverpool FC memorabilia hanging around. Basically the
GQ Style office.
What is the good life?
Health for yourself, family and friends.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Becoming Fashion Director at GQ Style. It sounds cliché, but
it’s true that if you work hard enough you can achieve good
things. I never went to college, et cetera, I just chanced it
and kept going. There are tough times but it’s all part of the
journey. I’m excited about this part of the journey.
What is your most treasured belonging?
My most treasured possession is a signed football from
Liverpool after they won their fifth European Cup.
What has been your most difficult decision?
Probably deciding to leave i-D. It was such a huge part
of my life at the time, but it was the right time. I always
trust my instincts.
If you weren’t a fashion director, what would you be?
I would be in the army I think.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Seeing that there are way too many people that hate on each
other in the fashion industry, and you hear the most stupid
stories about people. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
What is the first thing you think about in the
morning?
The first thing I think is ‘What’s the football gossip on the
BBC website?’
What is your uniform?
Shorts, T-shirt, and Nikes or Adidas trainers! My look is
casual. Nothing more, nothing less.
Any advice for the novice stylist?
I think new stylists need to be patient and polite. Manners
go a long way.
Who would you pick to style a portrait of you?
I would have Simon Foxton style me, he’s my best friend
and the man that taught me everything. He has styled
me before, when I was a model, and put me in weird
outfits, but now I’m older I would hope he would be a lot
kinder haha. Or Jonathan Kaye, another old friend who
makes men look really handsome—and we all want to
look handsome, right?
What is an unexpected source of inspiration for
you?
I get inspired by loads of random things. Strangely it’s
when I’m watching something like WWE or Sky Sports
News. I think it’s because your brain is so relaxed and
thoughts come more easily. For example when I came
up with the idea of Big Trouble in Little China for Astrid
Andersen’s recent collaboration with A$AP Ferg, that
came from watching a late night WWE Raw episode. I
love characters.
Who is a designer, living or dead, that you wish to
collaborate with?
I don’t know about designers, but what would excite me
is if the late great Ray Petri was around, maybe styling
Givenchy—and working with Riccardo would be pretty
exciting.
How would you like to be remembered?
As a normal guy from Peterborough that had manners.
